Subject-verb Agreement
the subject and verb must agree in number
- if a subject is singular, the verb must be singular
- if a subject is plural, the verb must be plural
Examples
The little boy plays in the sandbox.
The mother loves all of her children.
The girls read a book together.
A plural verb is needed with two or more subjects when they are connected by “and”
Example
A car and a bike are popular means of transportation.
Two singular subjects connected by or, either/or, or neither/nor require a singular verb
Examples
My aunt or my uncle is arriving by train today.
Either Kiana or Casey is helping today with stage decorations.
Neither Juan nor Carmen is available.
The verb in an or, either/or, or neither/nor sentence agrees with the
noun or pronoun closest to it.
Examples
Neither the plates nor the serving bowl goes on that shelf. Neither the serving bowl nor the plates go on that shelf.
Sometimes the subject is separated from the verb by such words as along with, as well as, besides, not, etc. These words and phrases are not part of the subject. Ignore them and use a singular verb when the subject is singular.
Examples
The politician, along with the newsmen, is expected shortly.
Excitement, as well as nervousness, is the cause of her shaking.
With collective nouns such as group, jury, family, audience, population, the verb might be singular or plural, depending on the writer's intent.
Examples
All of my family has arrived OR have arrived.
Most of the jury is here OR are here.
A third of the population was not in favor OR were not in favor of the bill.
Word Order
Word order refers to the way words are arranged in a sentence.
The standard word order in English is: Subject + Verb + Object
- Word order and context help to identify the meanings of individual words.
Usage of social media for a long period of time increases procrastination and decreases the ability to focus.
Sentence Structure
Every sentence is one of the following types:
- Simple
- Compound
- Complex
- Compound-Complex
Simple Sentence
A simple sentence is simple because it contains only one independent clause. An independent clause is a group of words that has both a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought.
Justin dropped his Agricultural Economics class.
- A simple sentence is not necessarily short or simple.
- It can be long and involved, with many parts and compound elements. But if there is only one independent clause, it is, nevertheless, a simple sentence.
Compound Sentence
A compound sentence is two (or more) independent clauses joined together.
Each of these clauses could form a sentence alone.
- We can join simple sentences to create compound sentences either of two ways:
1) With a semicolon
2)With a comma and coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)
Homer has Basic Plant Science on Mondays and Wednesdays, but Environmental
Horticulture conflicted with his schedule.
Complex Sentence
A complex sentence consists of an independent clause plus a dependent clause.
- A dependent clause starts with a subordinating conjunction or a relative pronoun, and contains a subject and verb, but does not express a complete thought.
We missed our plane because we were late.
- Here are some common subordinating conjunctions:
after, although, as, because, before, how, if, once, since, than, that, though,
till, until, when, where, whether, while
Compound-Complex Sentence
- A compound-complex sentence consists of at least two independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses.
- The punctuation rules remain the same:
1) the two simple sentences are joined by one of the two methods described above
2) the dependent clause is punctuated (or not) depending on whether it
precedes or follows an independent clause.
Homer was already in class, and Eva was in the lab while Justin was sleeping off
his headache.
Parallelism
Parallelism in grammar is the balance between two or more similar
words, phrases or clauses.
- Parallelism is also called parallel structure or parallel construction.
- Parallel construction prevents awkwardness, promotes clarity and improves writing style and readability.
Nancy likes the piano, the trumpet and the guitar.
She played basketball, had a shower and went to school.
Rules of Parallelism
Parallelism is used with elements joined by coordinating conjunctions.
My mother likes cooking and reading.
- Parallelism is used with elements in lists or in a series.
This task can be done individually, in pairs, or in groups of four.
- Parallelism is used with elements being compared.
She is mad about watching TV more than reading a book.
Parallelism is used with elements joined by a linking verb or a form of “be”
To learn is to understand the world.
- Parallelism is used with elements joined by linking words.
The teacher wants his students not only to keep quiet but also to do the task.
Sequence of Tenses
The verb in the subordinate clause changes its tense in accordance with the tense of the verb in the main clause.
- A past tense in the principal clause is usually followed by a past tense in the subordinate clause.
She said that she would come.
Exception!
A past tense in the principal clause may be followed by a present tense in the subordinate clause when the subordinate clause expresses a universal truth.
Galileo maintained that the earth moves around the sun.
A present or future tense in the principal clause may be followed by any tense in the subordinate clause.
He says that she was at the club.
He says that she is at the club.
He says that she will be at the club.
Note!
- When the verb in the main clause is in the future tense, we often use a present tense in the subordinate clause to refer to future time.
I will call you when he comes. (NOT I will call you when he will come.)
Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
To agree in number, a pronoun and its antecedent should both be singular or plural (which now includes the gender neutral/non-binary singular use of ”they”).
Masculine Singular: The principal attended the conference where he learned ways to
improve his approach to discipline.
Feminine Singular: The principal attended the conference where she learned ways to improve her approach to discipline.
Gender Neutral or Non-Binary Singular: The principal attended the conference where they learned ways to improve their approaches to discipline.
Plural: The principals attended the conference where they learned ways to improve their approaches
to discipline.
To agree regarding gender, the pronoun should match the antecedent’s gender or gender identity, meaning male, female, or gender neutral/non- binary.
Male: Jack found himself without a sled after the biggest snowfall in years.
Female: Rita found herself without a sled after the biggest snowfall in years.
Gender Neutral or Non-Binary: Jack found themselves without a sled after the biggest snowfall in years.
We did it!